A community activist has urged his council to re-think its support for a major housing development at a former factory site.

Kuha Kumaran presented a petition to Harrow Council last night, outlining the concerns of residents living near the old Kodak factory in Harrow View East.

The council has approved plans for the scheme, which will provide up to 1,500 homes and reach 18 storeys at its highest point.

But some of the site’s neighbours, as well as several opposition councillors, have questioned the area’s ability to cope with such huge changes.

Mr Kumaran said: “They have not considered parking, as well as the congestion the development will bring – Headstone Drive will come to a standstill.

“The subsequent increasing demand for GP appointments and school places will severely strain our already struggling public services.

“Anyone who cares about Harrow would plan to have a police station at the heart of the development, as it will be on the doorstep of the crime-ridden Wealdstone high street.

“Harrow needs more housing, but these should be family homes with adequate parking.”

He said those he had spoken to who live close to the site are “angry and frustrated” about the plans and called on the council to provide “the strong voice that has been missing for many years”.

Cllr Keith Ferry, responsible for business, planning and regeneration at Harrow Council, said he is “not in favour of huge tower blocks” but pointed out the council’s testing housing targets.

He added that it is trying to get the borough’s proposed stock, which currently stands at 1,392 in the emerging London Plan, down to a more “realistic” target of 1,000.

But opposition councillors have accused the current administration of turning the borough into a series of “concrete jungles” made up of “faceless tower blocks”.

“We have doctors in Harrow that can’t cope, we don’t have enough trains coming in and out of Harrow, we don’t have enough school places and yet we’re adding more pressure,” said Cllr Paul Osborn, leader of Harrow Conservatives.